Can't Live With Him, Can't Live Without Him
by sugar.and.cupcakes
Summary: A modern AU in which Romeo and Juliet finally succeed in bringing their fighting families to a truce. In this new time of peace, Benvolio makes it his priority to befriend the aggressive and hotheaded Tybalt. Could their budding friendship be destroyed by underlying feelings or blossom into something beautiful?
1. I Hate Everything About You

Chapter One: Montague-Capulet Bonding Time or Something

"Tybalt! Tybalt, wait up!"

The Capulet turned around from his daily walk around Verona. Tybalt was a tall, thin man with black hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of his head. He was dressed in a black, leather jacket over a red t-shirt and dark jeans. He was pretty angsty, aggressive, and undoubtedly rude to anyone who hadn't pledged their lives to the Capulets. The only one who could find any redeeming qualities was Juliet and sometimes she had trouble. Benvolio, a blonde Montague and doormat in a denim jacket, white button down, and faded gray slacks, was running toward Tybalt. Tybalt's first instinct was to grab his knife, but his hand stopped just above his pocket for multiple reasons. A) The mayor had threatened to imprison the next person who started a brawl. B) Juliet had called a ceasefire between the families; since no one wanted to see either Romeo or Juliet get hurt, the Montagues and Capulets had come to a grudging truce.

"You walk fast!" Benvolio exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips and breathing hard.

"If you don't have a reason to talk to me, leave me alone," Tybalt said through clenched teeth.

"Well luckily for you, I do have a reason to talk to you! I think we should become friends!" Benvolio said, beaming..

"No. A ceasefire was hard enough. Friends is impossible." After delivering his ultimatum, Tybalt turned heel and walked away as fast as he could. Footsteps followed his immediately as Benvolio ran to catch up.

"Come on! You don't even know me! How can you say we can't be friends?" Benvolio pressed, falling into step with the Capulet.

"I know enough to know that we can't get along. We're too different," Tybalt said plainly, thrusting his hands deep into his pockets.

"How are we too different?" Benvolio scoffed, leaning forward.

"Have you met me, Montague? I would eat you and yours for breakfast if I could. I hate all Montagues the same way I hate Hell. But you, you want to work past this age old prejudice. That's why," Capulet explained.

Benvolio frowned. "That's exactly why we need to be friends. I'm kind of the exception as far as not hating all the Capulets. Romeo loves Juliet but is kind of eh on the rest of you and Aunt and Uncle don't even like Juliet at the very least. So we have to show them that we can get along!"

"Isn't that what Romeo and Juliet are doing?" Tybalt asked with a sigh.

"Not really. Romeo and Juliet fell in love before they knew each other's identity, but you and I are fully aware of each other's identities," Benvolio explained. He leaned around and gave Tybalt huge puppy-eyes. "Pleeeeeeeease? Can we just try?" Benvolio pleaded.

Tybalt narrowed his green eyes and crossed his arms. "Say whatever you want, I'm never going to be-"

"TYBALT?! Are you hanging out with Benvolio?"

Tybalt swore under his breath and turned around. Juliet was standing behind him, looking surprised and delighted. Romeo was standing behind her, giving Tybalt the hairy eyeball and trying to appear manly. Juliet, a mass of chocolate hair and red silk, threw her arms around her beloved cousin's shoulder. "Aw, Tybalt! I'm so happy you're trying to be friendly with the Montagues for me! You have to tell me ALL ABOUT IT when you get home!" She gushed, kissing Tybalt's face exuberantly. She nuzzled his cheek and let out a string of unintelligible praise.

Benvolio bit back a laugh as he watched the great and powerful Prince of Cats be defeated by his overly excited cousin, and namely his weak spot. Juliet jumped down and smiled brightly at the older Capulet.

"Well, I've gotta go! Romeo and I are going to go see Batman v. Superman, and I don't want to be late!" Juliet exclaimed, linking arms with Romeo. The pair of young lovers turned heel and started walking down a side street toward the theater.

"Looks like you're stuck with me now," Benvolio said, grinning. Tybalt glowered at him and shoved his hands into his jeans' pockets.

"Well, lead the way, Montague. You obviously have some kind of plan for our Capulet-Montague bonding time," Tybalt said sourly.

"Wow! You must be telepathic or something!" Benvolio exclaimed, slipping his arm through Tybalt's. "There's this new ice cream place in town that Mercutio told me was really good, I heard that Zootopia had an amazing message about race and acceptance, and then we can go down to that cool cat cafe!"

Tybalt looked up from staring at Benvolio's arm at the word 'cat'. "A cafe that has…cats?" He asked, trying to control his excitement

"Yeah! Isn't it cool? It's just a regular coffee shop except there are cats EVERYWHERE!" Benvolio said, waving his free hand around with a beam.

"Well, that sounds alright," Tybalt replied sullenly, covering for himself.

Benvolio smiled at the Capulet and Tybalt felt his cheeks get a little hot. He turned away and muttered something about his jacket being too heavy. The blonde began humming a disgustingly happy song and swinging his arm freely as the pair walked down the street toward said new ice cream place.

The sun was bright gold and shone down on the city of Verona. The sky was a pure baby blue dotted with fluffy pillows of clouds. The buildings were made of mostly tinted glass in this section. The cobblestone streets were reminiscent of an earlier time, perhaps even before the famous and suddenly ended feud.

"Here we are," Benvolio said, pointing to a square white building painted with a hot fudge sundae on the side next to the walk up window. He pulled Tybalt forward by his hand now. The dark haired man felt a scarlet creeping up his neck towards his cheek and ears.

What… What is this Montague sorcery? Why am I feeling like this…? Tybalt thought, curling his fingers around the crimson fabric over the left side of his chest. He shook off the thoughts and focused on the ice cream salesperson.

"What's your favorite ice cream flavor, Tybalt?" Benvolio asked, examining the board with all the favors listed.

"Rocky road. You?" Tybalt said, looking at Benvolio through the corner of his eye.

"My favorite's butter pecan, but I don't think they have it…" Benvolio trailed off. He turned to the salesperson. "Two rocky road cones, please," he said,

The vendor turned around to check the freezers and his face fell. "Oh my, we only have enough left for one…"

"That's okay! We can share, right, Tybalt?" Benvolio said, smiling up at Tybalt.

The Capulet looked away and muttered something akin to a yes. Benvolio made a move to pay the vendor, but Tybalt lowered his hand. "No. I'll pay," Tybalt stated, pulling a ten dollar bill from his pocket. He slapped it on the counter and took the ice cream cone.

Benvolio blushed and smiled a little. "Thanks," he said.

"It's not a problem," Tybalt said, taking a bite of the ice cream. Benvolio watched in awe- anyone who could bite straight into ice cream had to be some kind of superhero. Tybalt noticed him watching and gave him a look. "Close your mouth. You'll let the flies in." The Montague's mouth snapped shut and his face reddened considerably in embarrassment. The darker haired man chuckled and handed Benvolio the cone. "Here."

Across the street, Mercutio did a double take, causing him to run into a lamp post. He pulled his earbuds out of his ears, cutting off his unceasing stream of "Uptown Funk". He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing things right. Was Tybalt "Go fuck yourself" Capulet sharing an ice cream cone with Benvolio "Find a happy place" Montague?! Mercutio shivered and chalked it up to aftershock from his latest rave party.

"You wanted to take me to some kind of movie?" Tybalt asked as he walked with Benvolio down the street.

"Yeah! Romeo and Mercutio went to see it the other day, but I was waiting tables so I couldn't go. Mercutio was high the whole time, but Romeo said it was really smart and funny. I thought it would be nice for us to go see a movie, so we can talk about something besides the weather and if Rosaline is gay or not," Benvolio explained, swinging his arms jubilantly.

"Do you think she's gay?" Tybalt asked, handing the ice cream cone back to Benvolio.

"I'm not sure. I can think of a lot of people that wouldn't want to date Romeo. He follows whoever he's in love with like a puppy trying to get adopted," Benvolio confided, laughing a little.

"That's the best description I've heard of him in a long time," Tybalt said with a small smile.

Benvolio smiled back, seemingly pleased with himself. He grabbed Tybalt's hand and began to run down the street. "C'mon! Let's go catch the movie before it's too late!"

A couple hours later, Benvolio and Tybalt were sitting across from each other in the cat cafe. About a dozen cats had affixed themselves to Tybalt and his chair while he attempted to drink a coffee without hair balls.

"This place is so cool," Benvolio said, looking around at all the various cats.

"It is," Tybalt agreed, scratching behind the ears of a fuzzy black kitten in his lap.

The blonde smiled softly. "You… Really like cats, don't you?"

The Capulet looked up in mild surprise. "I suppose I do. I didn't used to as much as I do now. That idiot Mercutio started calling me 'The Prince of Cats' and ever since then, cats just seem to follow me around. They really aren't that bad. Sometimes they seem aggressive on the outside, but once you get to know them- they can be really affectionate and sweet," Tybalt said with a half smile as the kitten rubbed its head against his leg.

Benvolio picked up a white cat from the floor and sat it on his lap. "I guess you're right," he said, stroking the animal's soft fur.

Tybalt glanced up at the clock and frowned. "Damn. Juliet's movie is probably over and she's gonna start blowing up my phone until I get home," he said, rising.

Benvolio got up too and the pair stood there for a minute before Benvolio unexpectedly gave Tybalt a tight embrace. The dark haired man stood there awkwardly, too in shock to do anything about this strange happenstance. The blonde stepped back sheepishly with a shy smile.

"Sorry…" He said, looking up at Tybalt through his floppy hair.

"Well you should be," the Capulet muttered, marching out the door. Benvolio watched him go and smiled slightly. Things had gone better than he had dared hope for.

"TYBALT! YOU'RE HOOOOOOOME!" Juliet exclaimed, tackling her cousin with another overly energetic hug. She started kissing his face again and asking a long line of questions that couldn't be distinguished from each other.

Tybalt chuckled and set Juliet down on the hardwood floor. "Hey, Jules. How was your movie?"

She waved a hand. "Whatever! Tell me about your time with Benvolio!" She cried, bouncing up and down on her heels.

The dark haired man looked up at the domed ceiling. "It was…interesting," he said.

Juliet giggled. "Well you've got to start somewhere!" she said brightly.

"Juliet! You need to go to bed! We have a big day tomorrow!" Mrs. Capulet called from the table.

The younger Capulet said goodnight to her cousin, gave him a peck on the cheek, and dashed up the stairs as fast as her tiny feet would take her. Tybalt smiled as he watched her go before pulling off his jacket. A folded piece of paper fell out onto the floor. The Prince of Cats stooped to pick it up, trying to decide whether to be irritated or miffed. He straightened up and opened the piece of paper.

Call me sometime!

202-555-0126

-Benvolio


	2. Prince of Party Cats

"But Moooooooooommm! The Montagues are our friends now! Why can't they come to the party tonight?"

Tybalt groaned and rubbed his eyes. He needed no alarm clock when Juliet's voice carried quite well. He sat up and looked around blearily. Today was a Sunday. Right. Party day. Tybalt swung his legs off the bed and snatched a ponytail holder off his bedside table. He pulled his hair out of his face, but the one piece fell over his eyes like always. He sighed and stood up, slipping his feet into a pair of cat slippers Juliet had gotten him last Christmas.

"The Montagues are not our friends. We're just not their enemies anymore," Mrs. Capulet explained calmly.

"But Romeo's my boyfriend! And Benvolio is super funny and nice!" Juliet whined.

Tybalt pushed open the hall door and walked into the main room. The rest of the Capulets were sitting at the table, having a feast of cereal. Tybalt took his place next to Juliet and poured some Lucky Charms into a bowl. He stared at the cereal for a long time. It was such a happy cereal. He shrugged and filled the bowl with milk while he acquainted himself with the conversation.

"Honestly Juliet, you can't just expect your father and me to be suddenly best friends with our lifelong enemies," Mrs. Capulet said, taking a sip of orange juice.

Juliet turned to her cousin. "Come on, Tybalt! Help me out here!" She pleaded.

"I hate the Montagues more than anything. I have trouble enough not pulling a knife when I see them," Tybalt said, taking a bite of Lucky Charms.

"Boo. Come on, Tybalt! You hung out with Benvolio yesterday!" Juliet exclaimed, pouting and crossing her arms.

Mr. Capulet, Mrs. Capulet, and Nurse Nina (who had wandered in to eavesdrop) shared a collective gasp as Juliet spilled the beans on Tybalt's recent whereabouts.

"Jules!" Tybalt hissed, turning bright red.

"Who… Who are you and what have you done with my nephew? Do you know what this could mean for our reputation?! You can't just start getting all chummy with the Montagues a week after a ceasefire is called!" Lady Capulet stammered, scooting back from the table.

Juliet crossed her arms. "It should NOT be a federal offense to hang out with a Montague!" She exclaimed.

Tybalt sighed and pushed his one stray piece of hair out of his face. It fell back immediately anyway. "Fine. Jules is right. Benvolio Montague cornered me yesterday, and I…ended up spending the day with him," Tybalt muttered, folding his arms. He was prideful by nature of anything he did, even spending time with Benvolio.

"And you should all be proud of Tybalt! He's the most Anti-Montague of us all and he made a beautiful sacrifice for me, his precious baby sister-"

"Cousin," Tybalt interrupted.

"Stop it, Tybalt! You're ruining the effect!" Juliet hissed. "He's making a sacrifice for me and we should honor it by HAVING THE MONTAGUES AT THE PARTY," Juliet said, resembling her cousin's determination and stubbornness in delivering her ultimatum.

Mr. and Mrs. Capulet exchanged a look. "Well… If even Tybalt is making sacrifices to help Juliet," Mrs. Capulet began.

"Then we should support her, too," Mr. Capulet finished.

Tybalt sank back in his seat, silently cursing Benvolio and the name Montague. How had he gotten himself in this mess?

"And you aren't allowed to use such unsavory words at the table. Go to your room, Tybalt," Mr. Capulet said.

"UNCLE!"

"Oh my, I never thought I'd see the day when Montagues and Capulets would be sharing a party together! I always thought that they would be forever foes- even before I became Juliet's nurse I knew all about your famous feud. It was always in the news and I would think to myself- 'Why can't they get along?' And now here we are, Romeo and sweet Juliet in love and dear Tybalt hanging out with Benvolio! What a beautiful day this is! We need to celeb-" the Nurse began.

Mr. Capulet held up a hand. "Nina, please. I would rather you help get ready for the party tonight than grace us with one of you beautiful soliloquys," he said, trying to mask his sarcasm.

Nina laughed and bustled off, still speaking as she went. Tybalt watched her go and sighed. It was going to be a long day and an even longer night.

"Wow! This place is even bigger than I remembered!" Benvolio exclaimed, looking up at the domed ceiling in awe.

Romeo was standing there with a placid smile on his face as he looked for Juliet. Mercutio had brought a plate of questionable brownies and even more questionable puns. Mercutio scanned the room for Tybalt. The Capulet in question was sulking in the shadows, trying not to be infected with either the festive spirit or the presence of the Montagues. Grinning, Mercutio cut through the crowd over to the Prince of Cats. Tybalt looked up at Mercutio's arrival and his expression soured further. The Capulet leaned back from his small side table and greeted Mercutio with folded arms and eyes like daggers.

"Man, you have got a serious case of resting bitch face," Mercutio said, leaning against Tybalt's table.

"State your business. Now. Then begone with you," Tybalt growled.

"I brought brownies!" Mercutio grinned, pushing one into the other man's hand. Tybalt stood up and caught the shoulder of Paris, a nasty twenty-year old with a thing for Juliet.

"Here, Paris. Have a brownie," Tybalt said, placing the brownie in Paris's hand with an uncharacteristic smile.

"Thanks, Tybalt," Paris said, taking a bite. With that, he wandered off to stalk Juliet like the locker room mold he was.

Mercutio watched in awe. "Holy shit balls. You know those have weed in them, right?" He asked.

"Of course, you idiot. Why else would I give one to that disgusting piece of human waste?" Tybalt said crossly. He left Mercutio then, trying to find a place where he could brood in peace.

"TYYYYYBALT! OVER HEEEEEERE!" Juliet shouted, waving over the crowd like a drowning person with serious mental issues. And of course, Romeo was on her arm puffing out his chest for everyone that looked at Juliet for too long.

Tybalt tried to shrink away and pretended he didn't see her. To his dismay, she came over anywhere.

"Here you are, Tybalt! Romeo and I are trying to round up some people to play Truth or Dare in the back! You have to come play with us! Pleeeeeeeeeease?" Juliet begged, batting her eyelashes extensively.

The dark haired man grabbed a beer off a nearby table. "It's my funeral," he muttered, uncorking the bottle. Juliet grabbed his arm with the hand not being clutched by Romeo like a lifeline and dragged him to the back where Benvolio, Rosaline, and Mercutio (who had somehow managed to get there before Tybalt) were already sitting.

"Tybalt! Sit with me," Benvolio said, patting the space next to him. Juliet energetically pushed Tybalt toward his "new friend." The Capulet sighed and sat next to Benvolio. Romeo and Juliet sat down across from them. Juliet smiled sweetly at everyone and opened the Truth or Dare app on her phone.

Several Beers Later…

Tybalt put down a bottle and looked around with a dazed and dreamy look on his eyes.

"Big brother… How many of those have you had?" Juliet asked nervously.

"Enough to drink away my sorrows," Tybalt said, waving a hand languidly through the air. He leaned his head against Benvolio's shoulder and turned glazed green eyes up to Benvolio. The Montague was looking increasingly uncomfortable. "Do you mind if I just stay here for a while…? I won't be trouble…"

Rosaline rolled her eyes and tossed her platinum blonde pigtails over her shoulder. "Whatever. I'm gonna turn on the news." She grabbed the remote and clicked on the power.

A woman in a severe gray suit and a brown bun was on the TV next to a picture of a lion. "A lion has escaped from Verona City Zoo. Everyone near is advised to stay inside until the police are able to handle the situation," the reporter said.

Tybalt looked up from making Benvolio squirm. "Hey, it's a kitty cat…" He said with a smile.

"It's a big kitty cat," Mercutio added, who had probably eaten too many of his own brownies.

"Well, it's being a very bad kitty cat," Benvolio said, patting Tybalt's head.

"Being a bad…kitty cat?" Tybalt said.

"Yes. Very bad," Benvolio replied.

The Capulet stood and leaned on the wall for support. "I must do something. I am the Prince of Cats…! I won't allow for a kitty cat to be bad in this city!" He exclaimed, stumbling through the party.

Benvolio and Juliet both stood up. "I think we should probably do something," Benvolio said.

Juliet nodded. "Agreed."

By the time the two of them could push through the drunken crowd of high society people giggling about things they did in boarding school, Tybalt was nowhere to be found.

"Crap!" Juliet exclaimed, running out into the darkened streets. Benvolio followed, looking around desperately for the runaway Capulet.

The Montague opened up his GPS and speedily punched in the coordinates of the zoo.

"It will take you fifteen minutes on foot to reach the Verona Public Zoo," the monotone voice said pleasantly. "Travel 500 feet on 10th street and turn left on Cherry Avenue."

"You heard the lady! Let's go!" Juliet cried. She hiked up her skirts and dashed down the road into the darkness. Benvolio ran after her, glancing down at his phone every three seconds.

"This is our left!" Benvolio said, pulling Juliet down the next street.

"Recalculating," Benvolio's phone told them merrily.

"But we took a left!" Juliet cried.

"Recalculating. This may take up to three hours. Please stand by," the maps lady told them with pure joy in her robotic voice.

"Oh, screw this!" Juliet exclaimed. "Tybalt can't have gotten that far! As drunk as he is, we should probably catch up with him soon!" She said, taking off and dashing down the streets. Benvolio dashed alongside her, looking around for the wayward Capulet. Benvolio came to a skidding halt, causing him to run into Juliet.

"Ouch!" Juliet exclaimed, rubbing her head.

"Sorry," Benvolio whispered, pointing down a side street. They could see Tybalt standing in the light of the street lamps, standing in a drunken stupor.

"Tybalt! You're in so much trouble!" Juliet cried, running towards him. She stopped speaking and moving when she saw what was standing several yards in front of Tybalt. A huge, real life lion was there giving Tybalt an are-you-for-real-right-now-bro look. Benvolio grabbed Juliet's shoulder and held her back.

"Hey kitty cat… I heard that you've been being a real bad kitty cat and that's like, not cool… Because I'm the Prince of Cats and if there's a kitty cat that's being bad then it makes me look bad…so can you like be a nice kitty cat?" Tybalt asked, almost falling on his face every other word.

If animals could roll their eyes, that lion did just then. It turned around and went back the other way. It would be reported later that the runaway lion returned to his cage on its own and meowed something that sounded like "Kids these days."

Benvolio ran forward to Tybalt and prepared to hold hair.

"Hey there…" Tybalt said with a dazed smile, touching Benvolio's cheek gently. He then promptly passed out.

"Tybalt! Wake up!"

The Capulet opened his eyes slowly and looked around. He was in his room, surprisingly. He turned over, saw Benvolio lying next to him, and shouted aloud.

"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME AND ALL THINGS HOLY ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!" Tybalt yelled, rolling off the bed in an attempt to get as far away from the Montague as possible.

"Mercutio threw up all over the guest room and since you were already passed out in here, Mrs. Capulet just put me up here," Benvolio said, sounding puzzled at the Capulet's reaction.

Tybalt sat up and looked at Benvolio with narrowed eyes. "So… Nothing happened, right?" He asked, gesturing vaguely between them.

"Well…you woke up once while the party was still going on, wandered downstairs, and started uh- making out with everyone and that kind of um included me," Benvolio said guardedly.

"But I just, in a drunken state of course, tried to kiss you and you of course pushed me off and sent me back upstairs. Nothing else happened, right?" Tybalt asked.

"Nope."

"Okay good," the dark haired man said, flopping on the floor now feeling the after effects of drinking away his sorrows. "Get me an ibuprofen and a Gatorade, Montague… I think I'm going to be sick…"


	3. Tybalt vs Water

"Honestly, Benvolio, what do you even see in the ratcatcher?" Mercutio asked, taking a DumDum out of his mouth.

Benvolio looked to his cousin for support, but Romeo was staring at the rippling sky with his trademark absent smile.

It was Tuesday. The day after Tybalt's infamous hangover, and the temperature was pushing ninety.

The blonde sighed and wiped sweat off his brow. It didn't do much good since his floppy bangs were already drenched in perspiration. He was sick and tired of explaining to everyone why he was taking a chance on Tybalt. Even such a peace loving and friendly person as Benvolio was getting a little mad in the heat. "Because Mercutio, and listen well so I don't have to say this again, we never took the chance to get to know Tybalt. The only Tybalt we know is the product of the feud. And I can tell there's something underneath the surface if I could only-" He stopped talking when he noticed Mercutio was staring off to the left.

"Speak of the devil," Mercutio said with a grin.

Benvolio followed his gaze and saw to his surprise, a miserable looking Tybalt across the street. A beam broke across the Montague's face. "Tybalt! Over here!" Benvolio shouted, waving to the Capulet.

Tybalt looked up and wanted to slink off into the shadows, but the three Stooges were already crossing the street toward him. Mercutio gave Tybalt the onceover.

"Okay, dude- I know you're weird, but why are you wearing a jacket and jeans in ninety degree weather? That's a new level of crazy," Mercutio asked pointedly.

"And why should I listen to someone who throws up pot brownie all over someone else's house?" Tybalt said drily.

"Hey, guys, don't fight," Benvolio said, trying to separate the two.

"Yes, because Tybalt you are so dear to my heart," Romeo said dreamily.

"Now you're just creeping me out, kid," Tybalt sighed, pushing his one strand of hair out of his face.

"GUYS WHY DON'T WE GO TO THE POOL?" Benvolio exclaimed, cutting off the brewing fight.

"Wasn't that what we were planning to do anyway?" Mercutio asked.

"I don't have a swimsuit," Tybalt said in a monotone plainness that thinly disguised his pent up aggression.

"Don't worry! I always bring an extra," Benvolio told him, taking Tybalt's hands in his own.

The Capulet felt a red creeping up his neck and all his thoughts went out the window save for thinking about how soft Benvolio's hands were. He couldn't stop staring into the Montague's bright sapphire eyes full of hope and happiness.

"Tybalt. Ratcatcher. Prince of Cats," Mercutio said, waving a hand in front of Tybalt's face.

The dark haired man snapped out of his daze. "Yes, but I'm a lot taller than you, Montague. I don't think we'd be the same size," he said, picking up right where he left off.

Benvolio pouted and squished Tybalt's cheeks together. "Just come with us, Tybalt!"

The Prince of Cats sighed. He was having trouble saying no to Benvolio. Especially when he was making that face… "Fine, you idiots. I'll go with you," he said, trying to fight down the blush.

The blonde jumped back and smiled hugely at Tybalt. "Yay! Well, what are we waiting for, guys? Let's go!"

Mercutio threw his arms up in the air. "Woo! Let's go party!"

Romeo looked around as if breaking out of a trance. "Hm? What happened?" He asked.

"Tybalt's coming with us to the pool!" Benvolio exclaimed, starting down the sidewalk towards the Verona Public Pool.

"How do I end up doing these things?" Tybalt muttered as he walked with his three greatest enemies to the pool. The pool!

"So, Tybalt- what do you do for a living?" Benvolio asked, falling into step with the Capulet.

"I teach people how to sword fight," Tybalt muttered.

"Wow! So cool!" All three of the others exclaimed, looking at the dark haired man in awe.

Tybalt looked at them strangely. "It's not…that amazing," he said.

"No way! That is like the coolest job ever!" Benvolio exclaimed. "You have to teach us sometime!" He said, taking Tybalt's hands again in his own.

"Holy crap that would be the coolest," Mercutio said, shaking Romeo's shoulders. "Right, Romeo?"

"Hm? Oh, are we still talking about Tybalt's job?" Romeo asked.

Tybalt rolled his eyes and pushed past Mercutio and Romeo. "You guys are so weird," he sighed. Of course, the other three fell into step with him again (Romeo had to be tugged along because he had zoned out again).

"Here we are!" Benvolio exclaimed as they reached the pool entrance. The woman at the front desk was very obviously a bored teenager at her first summer job.

"It's three bucks per person," she said.

Romeo had to pay for Mercutio because the only things in Mercutio's pockets were coupons to an adult video store and the occasional DumDum wrapper. The four of them proceeded into the changing room and Benvolio handed Tybalt his extra swimsuit.

"Seriously, why do you have this?" Tybalt asked, looking over at Benvolio who was taking off his shirt. The Capulet's eyes glimpsed what appeared to be a small, thin scar on the Montague's right shoulder before Benvolio put on a different t-shirt.

"Well, Mercutio and Romeo are both pretty forgetful- so whenever I go anywhere we have to swim, I bring an extra swimsuit just in case," the blonde explained.

"You never can be too careful with those meatheads, I guess," Tybalt said, removing his overly heavy clothing. He detested showing off skin- but he didn't really want to disappoint Benvolio by not going. He pulled on Benvolio's spare swimsuit and was surprised to see that it wasn't too short.

"Hey, are you guys ready yet?" Mercutio asked, walking over to them with Romeo. His jaw fell open and the DumDum fell out. "Holy. Shit. Balls. Tybalt, you are ripped, man!" He exclaimed.

Benvolio peered around and looked awestrucked too. "How many times a day do you go to the gym?"

Tybalt sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now do you see why I don't like showing off skin? You people see one person with defined muscles and you lose your shit."

Mercutio elbowed Romeo in the ribs. "If that's what Juliet's cousin looks like, you're going to need to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger," he hissed.

"Teaching people to sword fight must be really physically demanding," Benvolio mused, "Waiting tables has just made me really good at catching things."

Romeo observed how desperately scrawny he was and decided never to take off his shirt in Juliet's presence until he was He-Man. Trying to direct the conversation away from his lack of muscles, he started shooing them out the door of the changing room to the actual pool itself.

Tybalt flexed his fingers as his sun-deprived skin soaked up the golden light. Benvolio had thrown up his arms to the sky and Mercutio was fishing around in his pockets for a new DumDum.

"Hey, where did Romeo go?" Benvolio asked, noticing that his cousin had mysteriously disappeared (again).

"I'll summon him!" Mercutio exclaimed, holding his index finger in the air. He cupped his hands around his mouth in a home made megaphone. "Romeo! Madman! Passions! Lover! I summon thee by Juliet's quivering thigh and the areas adjacent to it!" He exclaimed.

Benvolio had been laughing at the beginning, but then started waving his arms violently for Mercutio to keep his big mouth shut. Tybalt spun Mercutio around with a look like bloody murder on his face.

"What were you saying about my baby cousin?" Tybalt growled through clenched teeth, pulling Mercutio dangerously close.

"U-uh…" Mercutio stammered.

Tybalt tossed the offending Escalus into the pool and grabbed a water gun off an abandoned pool chair. "Turn and look upon your death, Mercutio!" Tybalt snarled, taking aim at Mercutio's face.

"Back off, dear Capulet!" Romeo exclaimed, blasting Tybalt in the face with a different water gun.

Benvolio sighed and grabbed another abandoned water gun with a grin. If they were going to have a water gun fight, he didn't want to miss out. Tybalt had pulled out his ponytail and was now trying to take on both Romeo and Mercutio. Benvolio leapt to Tybalt's side and pressed his back to the Capulet's.

"Let's tag team!" Benvolio exclaimed, taking a well aimed shot at Mercutio.

Tybalt felt a heat spread through his body that didn't have anything to do with the sun beating down on them from above. He was so close to Benvolio...the only barrier from skin on skin the plaid, button-down t-shirt Benvolio was wearing. He tried to focus on what he was doing and blasted Mercutio square in the chest from under Romeo's arm.

Mercutio pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. "If you look for me tomorrow- you will find me a very grave man!" He exclaimed, falling back on the water and pretending to be dead.

Romeo responded by shoving Tybalt into the water. The Capulet came up sputtering, his jet black hair sticking to his forehead. He grabbed Romeo's wrist and threw him over his shoulder into the pool as well. Benvolio cheered and dived in as well. He surfaced with a beam, his floppy bangs plastered over his eyes.

Tybalt cracked his knuckles and rounded on Romeo. "Don't think that I'm done with you, boy," he snarled.

"Tybalt, why don't you eat a snickers?" the Montague asked.

Mercutio looked up from playing possum. "Why would he need a snickers?"

"Because you want to stab people when you're hungry!" Benvolio said, throwing his arms around Tybalt's midsection.

Tybalt looked over at Benvolio, pushing the shock of having Benvolio's bare arms against his torso into a dark corner of his brain. "Why are you advertising candy bars to me?" he asked dryly.

Benvolio shrugged. "Because I love snickers."

The Prince of Cats sighed and detached himself from the Montague. "You are way too clingy," he said roughly, lifting himself out of the pool and onto the edge. The blonde pouted and threw a pool noodle at Tybalt's face.

"You're such a butt head," Benvolio said, leaning on the concrete edge and looking up at Tybalt with wide blue eyes.

A mixture of anger and amusement passed across the Capulet's face. "I don't think I've been called a butt head since the sixth grade."

Benvolio shrugged. "Maybe not to your face."

"MONTAGUE!"


End file.
